I moved to the Oregon Coast in 2018 as an investor and have grown a healthy Real Estate Services business that has sold nearly $30M in investment properties.

In any event here are the top five investor related insights and changes I've seen or experienced on the Oregon Coast since I obtained my OR RE license:

- Seller Carried transactions are getting MUCH harder to identify. I've personally or professionally coordinated nearly ten seller carried transactions for myself and others but none in the past year and a half. When I performed a recent search for seller carried coastal land - the results were short and mostly undesirable. I attribute to the general increase in demand for the Oregon Coast and in particular affordable and developable coastal properties.

- Short term rentals statewide have an increasing barrier to entry. When I first purchased my first Oregon Coast investment property the intention was as an AirBNB (having learned from arbitraging my place in LA) when the platform was first growing. In the same city STRs are effectively no longer allowed unless the zoning is commercial. In nearly all costal cities and counties STR rules and regulations have since then been implemented and investors must navigate zoning to acquire a permissible STR immediately. On a positive - the jurisdictions have done a fair job of ensuring saturation is typically lower than other popular areas and most at least offer a clear path to permit or licenses (when and where available).

- The first property I purchased in Oregon was on the market for nearly ten years! Fast forward (one pandemic) and the secret of the Oregon Coast is out..Although (in my opinion) the value is still considerable in comparison to other coastal areas - demand is still off the charts and inventory remains absurdly low. Particularly newer build or 'turn-key' properties that have been updated. For example even in today's market the past several transactions have included: A $400K cash trust purchase. A $2M cash luxury home purchase. A client made an over asking offer on a $775K+/- that was not accepted due to an alternative cash offer. A second client did not get the chance to offer on a $700K home due to an all cash offer. Several of my active buyers are cash buyers. In summary - prime properties are in shorter supply than buyers/investors.

- Since my 'niche' is short-term rentals my data points might be a little skewed but I'd guesstimate that half of the investors I work with are from out of state and the rest are from further regions of Oregon seeking a beach home that can usually also be an STR. They are typically from regions or areas within a day or two drive: California, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada.

- Multifamily deals are really hard to find. Investors have figured out that beach properties are (supposedly) a good investment and the inventory of multi family properties along the entire 363 mile coastline is nearly non-existent. Typically there are fewer than 100 multi-family properties listed for sale at any given time and often fewer than 50. We have sold several coastal duplexes, a seven and six plex and at least several times a year observe listings that are worth consideration. The majority of our investors seeking larger complex footprints usually explore and invest along the I-5 corridor south of Portland to the California border. Most recently a 24 plex in Eugene.

Bonus - Valuations are rising. Clearly - but a good example is a residential south coast lot of .10-.20 acres without utilities. Pre 2020 a residential lot like this would be purchasable for $40-50k and there were handfuls of options. Today? Good luck with finding a sub-six figure lot with a reasonable walk or drive to the beach that building is feasible. To be fair - I thought the lots were undervalued then..and just might be moving forward.